


A World of Opportunities

by reeby10



Category: Princess Bride (1987)
Genre: Dread Pirates Roberts, Gen, Inigo Montoya-centric, POV Inigo Montoya, Post-Canon, background Buttercup/Westley (Princess Bride)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21836878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: With nothing else to keep him, Inigo takes on the role of Dread Pirate Roberts with Westley at his side.
Relationships: Inigo Montoya & Westley
Comments: 18
Kudos: 78
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	A World of Opportunities

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theunlivedlife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theunlivedlife/gifts).



They wait long enough for Inigo’s injuries to mostly heal before they make their way to Westley’s ship. Soon to be Inigo’s ship. The Revenge.

Inigo’s not sure he’s ready to captain his own pirate ship, but it’s what he has now. The only thing he has now, really, since so much of his life has been built on getting vengeance for his father’s murder. He hadn’t really had a plan for what he’d do after that, so Westley’s offer had been a sort of godsend. Meant to be, perhaps.

The ship is still in port right where Westley left it, kept safe by the stories about the infamous ship and her even more infamous captain, despite him having dismissed the whole crew when he left to find Buttercup. She’s a beautiful ship, Inigo has to admit. The wood is deep and dark as night, giving off a foreboding air that makes it easy for Inigo to see why she’s so feared by all who see her.

“She’s yours now,” Westley says, voice low, almost reverent, as they board.

Inigo feels, for the first time since Westley suggested it, that taking over as the Dread Pirate Roberts is exactly where he needs to be.

⁂

They take on a whole new crew the next day. Westey starts calling him Captain Roberts, which turns out to be more difficult to get used to than he would have thought. His name is important to him. It’s a connection to his past, to his father. He repeated it to himself a thousand times over as he planned his revenge on the Six Fingered Man.

The second time he fails to immediately respond to the name, Westley takes him aside. They go to the captain’s quarters, which Inigo hasn’t quite gotten used to either. They’re the most private place on the ship, though they still keep their voices low. The rest of the crew can’t be trusted, not yet, and not with this.

“If you don’t want to do this…” Westley says, one eyebrow raised as he considers Inigio.

Inigo shakes his head. “No, no!” he replies, wondering how he can explain. “That is not it at all, my friend. It is just strange to step into another life when so much of mine was taken up with nothing but swordplay and revenge.”

If anyone will understand, Inigo thinks it will be Westley. Fezzik — if he were here on the ship and not waiting at another port with Buttercup, protecting her until Westley can return to her and he can join the crew of the Revenge — would try. Buttercup would sympathize. But Westley, who has lived many lives in the years since he first left Buttercup, would really be able to understand.

“I cannot say that I knew your father,” Westley says with quiet respect, “but I think he would be proud of you.”

Inigo smiles as Westley places a friendly, grounding hand on his shoulder. He likes to think so as well, and hopefully he can continue to do so as the next in line as the Dread Pirate Roberts.

⁂

By the time they make it to the port where Fezzik and Buttercup are waiting, Inigo is feeling much more comfortable in his role as captain. The crew is also working better together than he would have thought possible. Westley admitted he was impressed by how quickly it all came together, especially with the rocky start.

Inigo rather thought their meeting — what felt like years ago now but was mere months — had ushered in a wave of good luck for all of them.

“Are you ready to leave the ship for good?” Inigo asks Westley as they approach shore, the two of them standing alone at the bow of the ship.

Westley shrugs, eyes distant. “I was determined to return to Buttercup from the moment I first left her,” he says slowly. “And I am excited to do so. I have enough money to give her the life she deserves now, like I’d planned. But I must admit, I believe I will miss this ship.”

“You are always welcome back, as long as I am captain,” Inigo replies. He knows that he would miss it too, even though he’s only been captain a short time. “And I hope that we can continue as friends.”

“Of course!” Westley says, a true smile growing on his face, so different from the smirks he usually favors. “I would be honored to call a man such as you my friend.”

They stand there in comfortable silence until they dock, the sound of a well-run ship washing over them. Inigo revels in the peaceful feeling. He has no responsibilities except for doing right by his crew, no plan going forward except to sail on wherever the whim takes him. Before, he never would have thought to have such an opportunity.

The ship docks without a problem, and Inigo allows half the crew to go ashore. The other half will have their leave when the first returns. It’s likely some of them will desert, Westley tells him, but Inigo decides he will worry about possibly replacing them later. For now, he has friends to greet.

Buttercup throws herself into Westley’s arms as soon he steps ashore. He whirls her around, kissing her deeply, and Inigo smiles as he watches them. They are so happy together, and it makes him happy to see them that way. He knows all too well that they went through many fires to have the chance to be together again.

“Do you like being captain?” Fezzik asks from behind him.

Inigo turns to him and reaches out to grasp Fezzik’s shoulders. The giant smiles at him, and Inigo realizes how much he missed his friend. They have gone through many fires together too, and it has forged a strong bond between them.

“I like it very much, my friend,” Inigo tells him, feeling the truth of it in his bones. “Do you still plan to join me? I am looking for a new first mate now that Westley is leaving with Buttercup.”

“Of course I do,” Fezzik says, like there was never any doubt. Perhaps there never was, because Inigo knows that Fezzik doesn’t have anything left to him but this strange group of friends either. “I do not know if I will be a good first mate, but I will try.”

Inigo smiles. “I know you will, my friend, I know you will. There was never any doubt.”


End file.
